Case Study 13.2 - How Safe is Safe?

Questions 1 - 4

Questions
1. As a company, would you describe PPI as having an identifiable philosophy of moral values?
How do its policies contribute to this philosophy?

Yes I would describe PPI as having an identifiable philosophy of moral values because the
policies that are adapted by the firm promote wellbeing and security in the work place. PPI is
invested and cares for the well-being of their workers. They practice this by bringing in outside
consultants from the insurance industry and OSHA to audit the plant for unsafe conditions.

2. Which ethical perspective best describes PPI’s approach to safety issues? Would you say PPI
takes a utilitarian-, duty-, or virtue-based approach?

If we are going off of Heifetz’s perspective or Burns’s, I would say Heifetz’s describes more of
the situation PPI is in. It specifically states that they look to be confronted for conflict so that
they can make changes. This perspective is for the people, in that they make their work place
better regardless of ramifications they could consider because it’s important to them and they
justify it. I would say that utilitarianism is their approach, because they are preventative. They
choose to do what they are doing because they believe that in the future it will help them against
any issues that arise, and it will also back them up and prove that they really do care for the well-
being of their company.

3. Regarding safety issues, how does management see its responsibilities toward its employees?
How do the attorneys see their responsibilities toward PPI?

Management sees it as their duty to keep their company clean and continue keeping everyone in
the plant safe. PPI is keeping the word of safety by doing inspections that reveal safety concerns
that potentially cause danger to their employees. This approach has been effective in running PPI
and keeping employees in safe conditions. The attorneys see their responsibilities towards PPI by
being concerned that this approach may ultimately result in future lawsuits against PPI. They
believe the audits will serve as evidence unsafe conditions and strengthen the plaintiffs case.

4. Why does it appear that the ethics of PPI and its attorneys are in conflict?

It appears that the ethics of PPI and its attorneys are in conflict because the attorneys for PPI are
extremely opposed to the company’s approach to safety. As our textbook states, The lawyers are
vehemently against the procedure of having out- side auditors. If a lawsuit were to be brought
against PPI, the attorneys argue that any previous issues could be used as evidence of a historical
pattern and knowledge of unsafe conditions. In effect, the audits that PPI conducts voluntarily
could be used by plaintiffs to strengthen a case against the company. (Northhouse, 2016)